Ettore Bastico

Ettore Bastico (9 April 1876 – 2 December 1972) was an Italian field marshal who served as the commander of Axis forces in North Africa from 1941 to 1943 during World War II.

In this role, Bastico was a target of Giulio Douhet in Recapitulation (published with the work The Command of the Air).

In 1937, during the later stages of the Spanish Civil War, Bastico replaced Mario Roatta as the commander-in-chief of the Italian volunteer corps in Spain, the Corpo Truppe Volontarie.

On 19 July 1941, Bastico was named Governor-General of Italian Libya and commander-in-chief over all Axis forces in North Africa.

Bastico was made the commandant of the Giado concentration camp, established in February 1942 to intern Libyan and Italian Jews.

When Libya was lost to the British Eighth Army's advance, since 2 February 1943 he was left without a command for the rest of the war.

Ettore Bastico in North Africa